Her Grace
by Beautifully.Tragically.Lovley
Summary: He's loved her since they were young. So why is she marrying his older brother? A little bit of an AU. Read to find out. My first Oneshot


Her Grace...

She walked past there spot gracefully, he thinks that is what he admired about her the most, her grace. The way she moved so freely like she was walking on air. Although he loved everything about her, if only she loved everything about him not just his friendship, if only she loved him as she loved his brother. She was marrying his brother and he has loved her since they were kids. His Haley was marrying his brother, no his brother couldn't marry Peyton or someone else no he had to have Haley. To put the icing on the big cherry cake the wedding was tomorrow and he was the best man. How ironic the best man was in love with his best friend the bride.

"Come on Nate have some fun live a little this is my last night as a free woman and I chose to spend it with you my best bud"

They were currently playing on the beach there special spot. It became there spot back in freshman year of high school, same year that Nathan's oldest brother Jake had asked Haley out, no one ever expected them to last all the way through high school and now in Haley's senior year at duke and Jake's first year working for the boys father at Scott motors they were getting married, anyone who was anyone could tell they were in love, but those same anyone's could also tell that Nathan was so much in love with Haley that tomorrow was going to kill him. Nathan's twin brother Lucas had always been referee between Nathan and Jake's constant bickering it was mostly just brother stuff and they would always get over it but Lucas could tell that if Jake married Haley tomorrow Nathan would never get over it. He remember the first day that Haley had met the Scott brothers she had been with his brother Lucas's now wife Brooke, her best girl friend.

_Flashback _

_"__Brookie __why are you acting so crazy they are just boys and my daddy says we can't be interested in boys until we are at least 30"_

_"Hales we are allowed to be interested in boys, I mean we are __eight now"_

_"Yuk Brooke boys are icky they have cooties"_

_"They are not Hales and don't you know cooties aren't real"_

_"Are to"_

_"Are not" _

_"Are to"_

_"Are not" _

_"Are to"_

_"Are not" _

_"Boys are not icky you don't even know what you are talking about" Haley and Brooke are broken from the__ir__ insensate bickering by three boys making faces at them. _

_"Who are you?" Haley asked. _

_"We are the Scott brothers" Nathan says with pride. _

_"I am Jake, and these are my twin little brothers Lucas and Nathan"_

_"Well my name is Brooke Penelope Davis and this is my best friend Haley Louise James and we are best friends, are you knew here because I don't remember seeing you at school this year and I know everyone-"_

_"Brooke, your doing that thing you do__ where you talk a lot" Haley says giggling._

_"Sorry Hales" she said _

_"Anyway like she said I am Haley and this is Brooke we are 8__.H__ow old are you__"__ she said while she smiled and pointed at her best friend_

_"I am 9 and Nathan and Lucas are 8 like you"__ Jake said copying her motion and pointing to his brothers_

_"Cool and maybe you are right Nathan I don't seem to be getting and symptoms of cooties from you normally, well according to my sister Taylor, I should be foaming at the mouth and rolling around on the floor by now"_

_"I told you, so does this mean we can go and play now" Nathan asked _

_Haley and Brooke just smiled as they followed the boys. _

_End Flashback_

Nathan smiled at the memory from that day him, Haley, Brooke, Lucas and Jake had been best friends inspirable, even though Jake was a grade above them he was always friends with them, mostly Nathan thought it was because of Haley, but sometimes because maybe he just wanted to spend time with his brothers. Brooke and Lucas had been in love since they were nine, and that was about how long he had loved Haley, problem was that was about the same time Jake had also fallen in love with her. Brooke had always told him that he deserved Haley and no matter how much Jake loved her she could tell that Nathan was Haley's soul mate. Brooke told Nathan that he just had to wait for Haley to realise, she just never did and now her it was the day before her dream wedding, and she still hadn't figured it out.

"Nathan, what are you thinking about?" Haley asked her face moulded with confusion and looking for answers.

"Just that I can't believe that you are getting married tomorrow and you are choosing to spend your last night with me" He said giving her a small smile

"It is a little weird isn't it, I mean spending my last free night with my fiancée's little brother" she said

"Thanks Hales" he said hitting his hand to his chest in a mock hurt way.

"I was kidding Nate you are my best friend who else would I spend this night with, that's why I told Brooke that I had have my bachelorette party last night, so tonight I could have my last night as a kid with my excellent best friend". She said trying to pick him up out of the sand

"What do you mean as a kid Hales" he said not giving into helping her get him up.

"I meant my last night without the responsibility of being a wife"

"Oh" he said finally getting to his feet, as he did she jumped on his back in anticipation that she would do this like she always did, for a piggy back ride, he was ready.

"You okay Nate, you seem out of it tonight, although considering it is, oh my god, it's 1 o'clock Nate, we have to get back otherwise I will be one ugly bride" she said jumping down of his back.

"You would never ever look ugly Hales" Nathan mumbled under his breath

"What was that Nate?" Haley asked

"Nothing just talking to the moon Hales" Nathan said smiling softly.

When he was young he wished to the moon that it get his parents to give him a basketball and when he got older every time he wished that Haley would glace at him this year or that she would tell him she loved him in the same way he loved her, every year he wished to that milky moon and every year nothing, and unlike the basketball this was something Karen and Keith Scott couldn't give there son.

"Let's go Nate I want to be a blushing bride not a trashing bride" she said walking swiftly to where they had parked his SUV at the edge of the beach. He smiled at her she looked beautiful in the moonlight, but then again she always did. Now he had to take her back to the hotel she was staying at because she was traditional in thinking that the bride couldn't see the groom before the wedding because it was bad luck. That was Haley James for you.

Othothothothothothothotohtohtothothotohtohtohtohothothotohtohothotothotohtothothototohto

Here she was standing in front of this full length mirror and for the first time in forever she was seeing herself not Haley James, Duke Blue Devil Cheerleader, or Duke tutor or tutor girl or Haley J or Haley James soon to be Scott. She was just seeing Haley, and the thing was that scared her because she had been with Jake as long as she remembered almost 8 years and they had been engaged for almost a year and for the first time she didn't know weather she wanted to be engaged anymore, not in the sense she wanted to get married, in the sense that she just wanted to be her own person for a little while, she loved Jake anyone could see that, but somewhere along the line she stayed with Jake because it was easier than trying something new. She just wished she had seen this before her wedding day. Thing was though being with Jake became more of a chore than something she wanted to.

"Tutor girl you okay you seen lost" a voice came from the door and in walked Haley's maid of honour, "I told Rach and Peyt to wait outside so me and my best friend could have a talk about stuff"

"Tig, my mum gave me the sex talk about 10 years ago and honey Jake popped my cheery about a million years ago you know that" Haley said giggling a little as she knew that that wasn't what Brooke was talking about.

"Not about that Hales, jeez you think you're so funny. Anyway what I wanted to say was, as a wife of one year is that no matter what everything you say goes, okay, not matter what the boys always lose in the arguments" Brooke said smiling slightly. Brooke had imagined giving this speech to Haley on the day she married Nathan, not the day she married Jake.

"Great advices thanks Bee, she said trying to hold back her laughter Brooke was a little crazy sometimes, and remember that no matter what I will always love you"

"I love you to Hales, my BFF for life"

"Hales is there something else going on with you?"

"Umm, no I well Bee I umm I think I am making a big mistake" Haley didn't want it to sound like she did it deliberately.

"What do you mean because if you don't want to get married I can have the car packed and out front in 2 seconds" She said seriously

Haley just looked at her best friend and smiled.

"It's not that I don't want to get married, I just don't think I am ready or want to be for that matter" Haley said. Or maybe it's just because she didn't think she was marrying the right person, her mind screamed.

"What do you want to do Haley, because it has to be your decision" Brooke said

Haley turned and looked at herself in the mirror again did she want to become Mrs Jake Scott or just stay Miss Haley James. Everyone was counting on her to marry Jake, Karen and Keith and her parents Lydia and Jimmy, and then there was the small fact that pretty much all of Tree Hill was invited to what was called the wedding of the year. She needed to decide the wedding was in almost 15 minutes. She realised when she was Nathan that she might not want to marry Jake. She just wished she was a kid again and all her decisions were made for her.

"I need a radio Tigger I need to play the radio game" Haley said starting to get flustered

"Haley, what is holding you back from marrying Jake, and there is no need for a radio because this has to be your decision" Brooke said rubbing a circle on Haley's back trying to get her to calm down.

"I don't know Bee; I have been with Jake for so long I mean I don't know anything different. But I don't know if I love him in the same way I used to" She was now so frazzled she was pacing up and down the room.

"Do you love someone else or what?" Brooke asked maybe Nathan would be in luck today.

Haley just looked at Brooke, Brooke had indeed raised a good point was there someone else. Did she love someone other than Jake? If so who, when she was 14 she had originally started going out with Jake to make Nathan jealous and when nothing came of that she slowly started to fall for Jake, but now on her wedding day she kept thinking that maybe there was still some feelings left for Nathan. No that couldn't be it he was her best friend, she told him everything, he was her first kiss when they were 12 and he knew when she got her period for the first time he was there for all her first, including one that he shouldn't have been there for. They had never ever told anyone that he had been her first kiss or anything like that; they had always just been unsaid topics.

_Flashback- Sophomore Year of high school_

_"God Jake, just get over it I don't have a thing for Matt Wills he was just getting some help from me for a Trig exam" Haley said blowing out a breath in frustration and throwing her hands up in the air to show him that this was stupid._

_"This isn't the time Hales we are at the after party and people don't really want to see us fight" _

_"You know what don't bother looking for me tonight I will find my own way home and personally I think if I see you again tonight we may end up saying something's we will regret" She said while grabbing the large bottle of vodka sitting next to the coach the had just been fighting on and walking out of the room. Not noticing that her best friend had heard the scene being played out before him and he was now following her down to the beach. _

_"Care to share some of that drink" Nathan said sitting down next to his half gone best friend. _

_"Here" she said thrusting him the bottle, silently thanking him for not asking about her __problems._

_"Hales do you want me to take you home" he asked her gently. She nodded not saying anything her face speaking for its self._

_The silent drive home and the look alone was enough was enough to kill Nathan. When they arrived at the James house Nathan knew that this weekend must have been another that her parents had left her alone. He picked her up gently and walked her into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. As he lay her down she spoke for the first time since the party._

_"Nate, will you stay with me tonight__" she said her big brown eyes catching his piercing blue ones, he nodded slightly not sure as to what she meant. It didn't sound like she was just asking him to stay with her._

_"Sure do you want me to sleep on the floor or –"He was cut of by her lips landing on his and he knew that this was wrong and he would probably regret it in the morning but he gave into that kiss and didn't look back._

_"No, she said breaking the earth shattering kiss, stay with me stay with me. And Haley did something that she regretted very much in the morning, left Nathan and went back with Jake, something that was never talked about again an act of __love that was caught up in GUILT_

End flashback

He was her first time, her first love and he was the first boy whose heart she broke.

"Get Nathan in here" she said slightly yelling at Brooke, Brooke did as she was told though and brought back Nathan. Brooke waited outside wanting Nathan to have as much time with Haley as possible.

"Nate I have to do something and you just have to either pretend it never happened or run away with me for a while" Haley said walking closer to him.

Before Nathan even had a chance to respond she walked up to him and kissed him, he kissed back. There kiss full of passion and love, she knew that she was making a big mistake.

OTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOHTOTH

Nathan watched on as Haley and Jake danced to there wedding song. Who would have thought though that 12 hours ago that Nathan and Haley would have been the ones to get married? Certainly not him he thought that he would be sitting here sulking because the love of his life would have married his brother. Yet here he was sitting in the spot where the groom sits after his improv wedding to Haley. She had realised she loved Nathan and Jake had walked in on them and simply said somehow I always knew, turns out he and Haley were both mutual in deciding that they loved each other but they weren't in love with each other. And now here Nathan was watching his brother dance to the song that should have been there wedding song, when it came on Nathan thought it was only fair that they danced to there song.

"Nate, hubby, light of my life, care to dance" Nathan turned around to see a smiling Haley holding out her hand for him and he noticed that everyone had cleared the dance floor for them to dance. He heard "More than Anyone" by Gavin Degraw come on and he knew he was going to spend his life with Haley.

"Always" She said smiling up at him and then resting her head back on his chest.

"And Forever" He said kissing the top of her head.

The first day of the rest of there lives, in true Nathan and Haley fashion it was crazy, fun filled and full of hope. Nathan smiled to himself wondering how he got this lucky, he looked at Jake who had guided Peyton over to the dance floor and then over at his parents and Haley's parents who looked so happy even though it wasn't what they expected and then at Lucas and Brooke who gave him the thumbs up. As weird as what was going on and how surreal this day was everything just seemed in place.

He looked down at Haley and watched in awe for the millionth time in his life the way she moved, with such grace and now that grace was all his, maybe they would name there first daughter Grace, he thought smiling...

_FIN_


End file.
